Focus... or Generality... Which Works Better when you're Social Blogging? And Who do You Follow?

Today, I spent several hours talking to artists at our small local art gallery.

One of the topics we got into was whether it works better to be a "generalist" or a "specialist." 

Of course, that's a vast and broad topic. In this particular instance, we were taking about blogs and social media, and what audiences seem to "prefer."

Although no particular consensus was reached, I have spent part of this afternoon thinking about this question at some length.

"Brand Loyalty" and such Things

Last time I was part of the social blogging scene — which I grant you was some 12-15 years ago — mostly people simply blogged about "whatever came to mind."

The topic of the the day was pretty much "life," and everything it entailed. Although I mostly blogged about psychology, philosophy and the human condition... sometimes I blogged about cats, and sometimes about gardening.

When social connections more or less became "Facebooked," blogging changed.

The "wisdom of the moment" was that the only way you could get heard and develop any sort of "Brand You" was to pick a niche you were passionate about and then position yourself as "the definitive expert" within that niche. If you strayed too far "off topic," you were considered not serious.

What "Price" Blogging?

Although I do enjoy studying and understanding trends, I have never been big on following them. Most of the time, I just don't really care what people think. 

However, because I derived more and more of my income from the blogosphere, I felt somewhat compelled to follow aforesaid wisdom of the moment... so I "specialized."

And kept doing that, pretty much till I discovered Steemit, back in January of 2017. 

All along, however, I always had an underlying desire to get back to where I used to be, before "niche blogging." There's just more of a sense of exploration and creative freedom in being a generalist. At least for me.

Now, I totally honor that some people need "a topic" to pound away at, or they just never would produce anything but a jumbled mess. 

I'm just not one of those people.

But What Does the AUDIENCE Say?

So here we are on Steemit, tapping away at our keyboards and screens and creating... WHAT?

So this is sort of an interactive post to a large degree, trying to do a sample survey of what YOU, the reader, like to read.

Do you follow particular people simply because they are "interesting," no matter what they are writing about? As in, you're more loyal to the person, than to their content?

Do you follow people because they predominantly write about something you're specifically interested in: Homesteading, freedom, cryptos, gardening, whatever? In other words, do you follow topics, more than people?

In the not too distant future, we're (allegedly) going to have "Communities" on Steemit, as part of the "Hivemind." Will that affect your reading and content habits here? Are you more likely to find particular interest communities, or more likely to be "all over the map?" 

Alternately, is your determining factor TYPE of content? By that, I mean you follow "formats," like photography, or memes, or videos... with the subject and person more up in the air?

Take a moment or two to think about it, and then leave your thoughts in the comments! 

created by @zord189

(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 180406 17:22 PDT